Denise Donatelli

Jazz singer Denise Donatelli first revealed a music inclination when she picked out "Silent Night" on the piano at the age of three; at six, she was a winner at the National Music Federation piano competition, and 14 years of classical piano study followed. But she laid aside her musical career to raise a family. Later, after divorcing in the late '80s and moving to Atlanta, she began performing jazz, earning a residence at the Ritz Carlton Hotel; later, she relocated to Los Angeles. Jazzed Media released her debut album, In the Company of Friends, on June 7, 2005. It was followed on August 12, 2008, by What Lies Within (Savant Records), which reached number 11 on the National Jazz Week radio chart. Two years later, on September 14, 2010, came her third album, When Lights Are Low, with her fourth, Soul Shadows, arriving in 2012. ~ William Ruhlmann